


DJ, play me a song (make it loud)

by midnightmumblings



Category: SB19 (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Papa Josh, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, their voice live inspired this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26814286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmumblings/pseuds/midnightmumblings
Summary: Say hello to DJ Papa Josh, the DJ who knows to give the best love advice, but doesn't know how to follow them when it comes to a very special person: Justin, the sound guy.
Relationships: Justin De Dios/Josh Cullen Santos
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	DJ, play me a song (make it loud)

**Author's Note:**

> :> floof

**Say hello to DJ Papa Josh, the DJ who knows to give the best love advice, but doesn't know how to follow them when it comes to a very special person: Justin, the sound guy.**

* * *

Being a DJ was never in Josh’s plans for a career growing up. It was not something that he aspired to be, nor was it something he even remotely considered doing. 

It's funny how life works out the way it does.

“Yes, welcome back to SB Radio, 91.6, my name is DJ Papa Josh, and you’re listening to Love Goes, a segment where I take your questions about love and relationships, and I give you my two cents on the matter.” He spoke into the microphone, dropping his voice low, and adding a sultry chuckle at the end. “How are you guys doing? I’m going to be hanging out with you for the next couple of hours, so keep sending in your questions and song requests.”

Josh leans back in the DJ booth, large headphones over his ears, bopping his head to the soft music playing in the background as he reads through the flood of comments and questions on their Facebook and Instagram.

“Alright, alright,” he murmured into the mic, grinning at the camera that was streaming the show as well. “We have a question from IG, and it’s from @kenny116, and he asks  _ Papa Josh, I’m currently in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend of three years. We were practically inseparable when we lived in the same city, but she’s gone overseas to work, and though I have faith in her, she’s becoming quite distant lately. She’s not answering my messages, and when I try to make time to video call with her, she becomes quite busy all of a sudden. I don’t know what to do at this point. By the way, I love your show, Papa Josh!” _

Josh lets out a loud breath, a gimmick he’s mastered to pretend like the question had some form of gravitas. 

“Well, Kenny boy,” he began, looking straight into the camera. “Thank you for tuning in first of all, it’s always awesome to hear that you guys love my show. It really, really, really drives me to make the show even better than before, so thank you for that.”

He does a dramatic hair flip and looks back into the camera with a slight smirk on his face. “As for your little relationship problem, my advice? Confront her about it. Be upfront and honest, and ask her what’s up. Sometimes, these problems you have are a result of you overthinking the situation, and maybe it’s not as bad as you make it out to be.”

Josh then leans back in the chair, smiling at the camera. “Leave her a message, and let her know how you feel. Try it out, and see how it goes, and always remember that Papa Josh’s number one rule is to....”

He trails off slightly as he pressed a button to simulate a drum roll. “...Communicate! Open the lines for communication, and you’ll go a long way.”

The rest of the show passed by quite quickly, with Josh smiling as he took questions, gave advice, and played music. Soon enough, midnight rolls in, and he’s closing the show.

“Alright, and that does it for me tonight,” he said, bringing the mic closer to his lips. “Thank you once again everyone for the awesome show, and I’ll see you all, back here on Monday, for another round of love advice. But for now, this is DJ Papa Josh signing off, and enjoy the weekend.”

The red “ON AIR” sign blinked off, and Josh dropped the “Papa Josh” act as he took off the headphones and placed them on the hook in front of him. He stood and stretched, letting out a satisfied groan as he did so.

“That was some show,” a voice spoke up, and Josh whipped his head around to see Justin, the sound tech guy, leaning against the door of the DJ booth. 

“Yeah,” Josh stuttered out in response as Justin moved closer to him. “It was, wasn’t it? There were a lot of questions this time around. I kinda feel bad that I couldn’t get to them all.”

“It’s not your fault,” Justin replied as he moved around the booth, turning off the equipment one by one. “You get a lot of questions. The ones you saw were actually filtered already."

"Oh yeah?" Josh asked, with a quirk of his eyebrow. 

Justin nodded. "Mhm. Had to filter out the ones that were a bit more...sexual in nature. There's only so much I can read about people saying they'd make love to the tune of your - and I quote -  _ velvet god-like voice _ . And, those are the more tame ones."

“Ah, you’ve been keeping track, have you?” Josh asked with a grin, and Justin chuckled.

“Well, what do you expect me to do for three hours while you do your thing, just watch you?” Justin retorted, a smile on his face as he gave Josh a once over. “I mean, I could if I wanted to.”

That made Josh pause, and as he prepared a response to  _ that,  _ Justin had managed to already make his way back to the door.

“Anyways,” Justin said, grabbing his jacket and cap, causing Josh to snap out of his reverie. “I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Y-yeah,” Josh replied, leaning against the table and trying to look cool. “You uh...you take care alright? Drive safe.” 

And then Justin smiled at him, causing Josh’s heart to beat rapidly in his chest as he watched Justin walk out of the studio.

He then sank back into his chair, replaying the exchange in his mind. He liked Justin...he really did...but sometimes, he just found himself in knots whenever he talked to him.

He sighed. And, there it was. For all of Josh’s “expertise” and “wisdom” as  _ DJ Papa Josh,  _ there was one person he always found himself flustered with whenever he was around:  _ Justin de Dios,  _ the sound guy. 

* * *

_ “Alright, we have a comment from Anonymous….they say ‘Dear Papa Josh, I just recently came out to my friends, and while they’ve been very supportive of me, one of them has been obviously avoiding me, making up excuses as to why they can’t hang out. I’m confused because they’re one of the first people that openly supported me when I came out, but now, I don’t know why they’re trying to stay away. I’m too afraid to ask because what if he’s really avoiding me because I’m gay? I can’t change who I am, and I wouldn’t want a friend like that, but... the thing is, I know my friend, and they are very supportive of the LGBT community...I just don’t know what to do. Think I should talk to them?” _

_ Josh sighed, turning to the camera. “Well, I think you should. Tell them that you just want to talk and clear things between you two. Good things have happened when you just open up those lines of communication and be honest with each other. Who knows, you might be in for the surprise of your life? But, if they’re really homophobic, just dump their ass. They don’t deserve to be your friend in the first place.” _

* * *

Josh had absolutely no idea when this crippling  _ crush _ on Justin de Dios began.

Though, he didn't really like calling it something as  _ elementary  _ as a "crush," but  _ guy-I-really-like-and-stare-at-because-he's-cute-and-kindhearted-and-just-so-damn-beautiful _ was long and a mouthful, so he eventually settled on  _ crush  _ just to give a name to that little flame burning in his chest.

It happened sometime after the old sound guy that used to handle the radio segments finally retired, and the radio station hired a new sound engineer that knew their way around the updated equipment they were bringing in. Justin was exactly who they needed. And, when Justin started working at the station, the sound quality of literally  _ everything  _ was just top notch. 

They started raking in listeners with every segment thanks to Justin. He wasn’t initially brought in to help with Josh’s show now. But, when Josh accidentally gave unsolicited love advice during one of his old segments, the listeners loved it and clamored for more. His then show,  _ Noontime Tunes with DJ Josh _ \- which used to just be a simple radio show format where he took in requests and played music - needed a massive revamp, and Justin was called to help with the sound set up.

Josh’s show was then bumped up to primetime, at 9 p.m., and Justin was the mastermind behind all the cool sounds and beats that accompanied the new format.  _ Love Goes  _ became a semi permanent feature until Josh was informed he could do his show every night during the weekdays. 

Slowly, Justin became a more permanent fixture himself outside the DJ booth while  _ Love Goes  _ was on, manning it with efficiency and ease, working his sound wizardry and multitasking skills to bring the best show possible to their listeners. 

So, yeah, it was probably in the middle of all that when Josh started noticing Justin in a different light.

It wasn’t an  _ immediate  _ thing. Like most things in his life, it just crept up on Josh, and one day, he just found himself staring outside the DJ booth, looking right at Justin as he flicked a few switches on the sound board. 

There wasn't anything inherently different with how Justin worked that time. It was their regular routine, after all. But, Josh turned to look at him one fateful night, and all the events of the past weeks came crashing down on him.

Like how Justin would bring him coffee every night without fail.

Or how Justin would share videos of his adorable cat before the show starts. Josh knows more about the damned cat than he does about Justin, but he couldn't really mind.

Not when Justin always lit up when he talked about his cat.

He also recalled those days where Justin would invite him to eat out at a nearby 7-11. It'd be one in morning, in a nearly empty store, where they'd be munching on bland hotdogs and getting brainfreeze from the Slushees. 

All of a sudden, he realized that Justin was just so seamlessly integrated into his life.

And Josh was just now realizing that he wanted him to stay.

The problem now wasn’t the fact that Josh had a crippling crush on Justin, because he’s long accepted the fact, and he was willing to live and die with that truth.

The problem was how to approach the situation.

Because yeah, he was  _ DJ Papa Josh,  _ and a lot of random strangers on the internet approached him for relationship advice. He was known to give good advice despite not being in a relationship himself, and many people seemed to think so as well, considering how many people were online during his nightly segments.

But, as much as he preached to them, for some reason, he himself couldn’t follow his own advice.

And therein lay his problem: He could give others advice on their relationships and love lives.

But somehow, when it came to himself, he was at a loss.

So yeah, funny how life turns out. 

* * *

_ “We got a comment here from @into_you_sweet, and they say ‘Hey papa Josh, I’m such a huge fan, and I love listening to your show on my way home from work. You make the drive that much easier for me. You give such great advice, and I’ve even applied a lot of them into my relationship with my boyfriend, and things have been going great.  _

_ But, lately, there’s something that’s been bothering me. See, my boyfriend works in advertising, and he always invites me to company events. There’s this new girl in HR who is, let’s admit it, drop-dead gorgeous. She’s always hanging around my boyfriend, and she keeps giving me these glares when I’m nearby. I know my boyfriend, and he would never betray me, but it just irks me that he doesn’t push her away or at least put a stop to her advances. How can I approach the situation?” _

_ Josh looked at the camera, to address the audience watching the livestream as well. “If you’ll ask me, tell your boyfriend this new girl is making you uncomfortable. If he really loves you, he would put a stop to whatever this new girl is doing to get his attention. He’s the one that needs to act here, sweetie. If you’ve always been following my advice, you know my number one rule is to always communicate. Talk it over, and if he still doesn’t put a stop to it, then maybe it’s time you re-evaluate your relationship, and find someone who will value your worth.” _

* * *

  
  
  


“Hey, you’re here early,” Justin remarked as he walked into the booth, removing his jacket as he did so. 

“Yeah I...I wanted to practice a bit before going on air," Josh replied as he looked up. 

Justin approached him, hand outstretched, clutching a cup of coffee. Josh smiled at him as he took the still steaming cup from Justin's hand.

"Hey, good luck on your show tonight," Justin said as he bumped his hip against Josh's shoulder gently. "I know you'll do great."

Josh felt a blush creep up his cheeks, and he smiled up at Justin. "Thanks, uh...back at you?"

Then, in a sudden move, Justin bent down and pressed a soft kiss against Josh’s cheek. Before Josh could even react, Justin had pulled away, a slight blush on his face, still smiling widely.

“Knock it out of the park, Papa Josh,” he murmured as he walked back to the sound booth, leaving Josh staring back at him, stunned.

The show continued without a hitch, Josh having slipped into his  _ Papa Josh  _ persona the moment the “ON AIR” button turned on. But, the kiss kept replaying again and again in his mind. Every few seconds, he would glance over at Justin in the sound booth, and their eyes would meet, with Justin giving him a huge smile each time he did.

What did it mean? Did Justin possibly like him back? Or was it just something he did with close friends? 

He and Justin have only been working together for close to a year now, and Josh feels like there’s no one else in the world who can be on the same wavelength as him.

When the show ended, as Josh was packing up to go home, Justin suddenly approached him, hands in his jacket pockets.

“Hey uh,” Justin spoke up, causing Josh to turn to him in askance. 

“Yes?” Josh asked when Justin didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Justin kicked some imaginary dirty on the floor, before looking back at Josh.

“I was thinking,” he began, biting his lower lip. “If you’re not in a rush to get home...wanna hang out?”

Josh nodded, an excited smile on his face. “I’ve got absolutely nothing to do. What’d you have in mind, 7-11 again?”

“Actually, I had something else planned.”

* * *

_ “Our next comment comes from Twitter...and the person asks: “How do I know I’m in love with them?” _

_ “Well,” Josh said after a few seconds as he digested the question. “You’ll just know. When you see them, your heart doesn’t race. You don’t get all hot and fuzzy. You’ll know you’re in love when you look at them and realize that there’s no one else in the world who gets you...who sees you for you who are. You’ll know you’re in love when you can’t imagine life without them, and would do anything to see them happy...even if it’s at the cost of your own happiness.” _

* * *

It was one in the morning, and Justin took them to a 24-hour restaurant just a few blocks away from the radio station. It wasn’t a short walk by any means, but they decided to just walk instead of taking Justin’s car. They weren’t in any rush after all.

“That was a great show,” Justin told him as they made their way down the streets.

Josh grinned at him. “Thanks, I mean...I couldn’t have done it without you, of course.”

Justin ducked his head, a blush on his cheeks. “It’s nothing. I always enjoy doing the sound for your shows. It’s a big task, but I’m not complaining of course.”

They arrived at the front of the restaurant, and Josh looked up. “So, uh, any particular reason why you brought us here?”

Justin raised an eyebrow. “Seriously, you don’t know what today is?”

Josh looked back, dumbfounded. “Did I miss a special date or something?”

“Oh my god,” Justin laughed, throwing his head back, tears springing at the corner of his eyes. “It’s your birthday today, silly!”

_ That  _ made Josh stop. He mentally counted back the days, and holy shit, Justin was right. It was already October 22nd, his 27th birthday, and  _ he  _ forgot.

“Wait, you remembered my birthday?” Josh asked him, a grin pulling at his lips. 

“Of course I did,” Justin told him, crossing his arms in a playful way. He then smiled, pulling Josh inside the restaurant. “Come on, I’m hungry. Let me treat you tonight...it’s your special day after all.”

And Josh couldn’t help but smile at that, his heart bursting with so much love for the boy in front of him. 

He just wished he knew what to do to finally seal the deal.

* * *

_ “Hey Papa Josh, I think I’m in love...how do I tell them that I want to give us a try?” _

_ Josh looked at the question, a fond smile on his face. The commenter was obviously a teenager, but their question came from a place of sincerity. He loved those comments. _

_ “You don’t need some big gesture or anything. If you don’t think you can talk to them in person, maybe write a letter,” he suggested. “Don’t just leave it hanging. You’ll never know what will happen if you don’t say anything. Plus, it’ll be easier to move on if it doesn’t work out than spend the rest of your life thinking of the what-ifs.”  _

* * *

The show wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but Josh had no idea why he was feeling nervous. Maybe because this was the day he decided he was finally going to take his own advice and communicate with Justin. He needed to know...he couldn’t just sit idly by and wonder if he had any chance in hell.

So, he figured, he’d do it after the show.

At least, if he was rejected, it was the weekend, so he could drown himself in ice cream and wine in his apartment.

“Yes, welcome back to SB Radio, 91.6, my name is DJ Papa Josh, and you’re listening to Love Goes, a segment where I take your questions about love and relationships, and I give you my two cents on the matter.” He spoke into the microphone, dropping his voice low, saying his usual spiel, and adding a sultry chuckle at the end. “How are you guys doing? I’m going to be hanging out with you for the next couple of hours, so keep sending in your questions and song requests.”

Justin was sitting in the sound booth, working on the system as he always did, and he flashed Josh a smile when their eyes met. Josh felt his nerves calm a bit after that, but there was still the feeling of dread and excitement. 

The night could end in one of two ways, and Josh was preparing for the inevitable.

The show progressed as normal, with Josh taking questions, giving advice, and playing songs in between. 

Then,  _ the message  _ came in.

“Alright, listeners, we have this very long Facebook message from…”

He trailed off at the name on the screen. The words  _ Justin de Dios  _ stared back at him. Josh glanced quickly at the sound booth, but Justin’s head was down, probably working on something in the equipment.

He felt cold seep into his skin. He had to make a decision as to whether he was going to read out the message or confront Justin about it later.

But, too much time has passed, and Josh spoke again to avoid the show from hitting dead air.

“Sorry about that listeners...had a bit of issues with the mic here,” he said, apologising. He cleared his throat and looked at the message again.

Nope, it still read  _ Justin de Dios.  _ Josh swallowed any hurt he may have felt and continued reading.

“We have a very long message from...Justin…” he breathed out. “This is on Facebook, by the way, so let’s see what he has to say.”

He took a deep breath, feeling rattled like he had never felt before. His listeners and viewers were probably already noticing, but Josh pushed through.

_ “Dear Papa Josh,” _ he read out.  _ “First, I want to say thank you so much for an amazing show, always. The sound is always so good, and my night is pretty much made whenever I listen to you. You must have a very good sound engineer...please give him my kudos.” _

Josh chuckled a bit at that, glancing over at the sound booth, and this time, Justin was looking directly at him, a hopeful smile on his face.

Josh smiled back, trying to force the pain down, before he shook his head and turned back to the message.

_ “Anyways,”  _ he continued.  _ “I have a dilemma. See, there’s this guy that I work with, and Papa Josh, he’s just the most amazing person ever. He welcomed me into the company when I didn’t know anyone, and he’s always made it a point to make me feel included in everything. And, that was before I was assigned to helping him with his tasks. _

_ But, I got assigned to work with him, and let me tell you, everything I thought about him was true. He’s kind-hearted, funny, and he has the sexiest voice. It’s like listening to velvet, and every time I hear him talk, I’m just feeling chills constantly.” _

Josh gulped at that, hope filling his chest. He shook away the feeling but continued on:

_ “But, more than that, he just has a heart of gold, and he’s always so appreciative. I always bring him coffee when I can, and he always takes it with a smile and a thank you. Sometimes, we hang out at the nearby 7-11 at one in the morning, and those are some of the favorite moments of my day.” _

Josh could feel his voice faltering, shaking with every word he read, but he still pushed through, despite the grin that threatened to split his face.

_ “And, just last week Papa Josh, we spent his birthday together. I surprised him, and can you believe the dingus forgot his own birthday? We had dinner - or rather, breakfast - until the wee hours of Saturday morning, and we ended up watching the sunrise on the way home. He’s just so beautiful, papa Josh, and I know that he’s the guy I want to be with. _

_ The thing is? He hasn’t made a move. I’ve been dropping hints everywhere, but I don’t think he’s picked up on them. I don’t know if he’s that oblivious, or I’m just not trying hard enough, but you know what, I’m about to drop the biggest hint yet. If he still doesn’t get this, I’m not sure what else to do. _

_ Anyways...what else can I say? Oh yeah, he’s really great at giving love advice to strangers, but he can’t seem to practice what he preaches. Maybe you can help me, Papa Josh. What should I do?” _

As Josh finished the message, he found himself speechless for the first time since he started his DJ career. He found himself staring at the sound booth, where Justin was looking right at him.

He couldn’t stop the show then and there and just kiss Justin senseless. He had to finish it up. It was the last message anyways, so he could still respond.

“Well, Justin...this guy of yours...I’m sure he’ll be so lucky to have you.” He said, looking straight at Justin, and not even bothering with the camera at this point. “He’s the dumbass that hasn’t picked up on your hints. He’s probably just unaware that you feel the same, and he’s probably kicking himself right now for being so oblivious. Maybe he’s listening right now, and now that you’ve taken a shot, it’ll open the line for communication later on. But, Justin, don’t give up on him…because he’s not going to give up easily on you, either.”

And with that, Josh then went through his final spiel and ended his show.

* * *

_ “Papa Josh, thank you. I followed your advice, and we’re now together. I can’t imagine life without him, and you helped move things along. Keep doing what you’re doing, Papa Josh. I really thank you.” _

* * *

“So,” Josh was the first to speak up when Justin entered the DJ booth. “I’m an idiot.”

Justin chuckled. “It’s okay. I knew I needed to push things along a little bit, so...what do you think?”

Josh looked at him and smiled. “I think...I think that we need to make up for lost time, and I should start following my own advice.”

“I think you should,” Justin agreed, pulling him closer by hooking his fingers into the belt loops of Josh’s jeans. “Because we could’ve been doing this for months now.”

He brings their lips together, and Josh melts into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Justin’s neck and kissing back with as much fervor. 

“Thank you, Papa Josh,” Justin moaned out when they pulled away, and Josh laughed.

“That’s right...I’m your  _ Papa Josh. _ ” He said back, and then Justin was kissing him again.

And it was the start of something beautiful. 


End file.
